Easter Baby!

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Exechorseluver

mom and ba The last time we talked, I told you all that I hoped there would be a new baby foal for us and that you all would have a happy Easter. Well, I don’t know about you but that wish definitely worked for us!

Of course, I slept through Lynn’s call as I had not moved my phone off silent yet as Lynn was convinced that she had a few more days until TeeDee would have her first baby. Lynn had a busy veterinarian day and was fighting insomnia as she dimly watched tv. She heard a yell that could only come from a delivering momma and raced out to find not only had TeeDee delivered but the that the baby had never even hit the ground. Apparently she landed on her feet and took off from there. There was not a speck of dirt on the baby as Lynn inspected her.

Instead, the foal was already trotting and cantering around the pasture. TeeDee was experiencing that “I am a brand new mom and have no idea what to do” panic. Momma was racing around whinnying and trying to absorb that this little (okay-not that little) object had just emerged from her uterus.

By the time Lauren and I got about six hours later, things had calmed down. Baby was napping and momma was on the watch for those nasty gelding interlopers that kept looking at her baby over the fence. She was typically protective for a first time mom but not overly mean. Lauren and I helped Lynn get the first baby exam done. Names were flying around on Facebook commemorating the Easter nature of her birth. I did not expect Lynn to go with a “Bunny”, “Lily” or “Hoppy”.

Lauren did her first baby holding as Lynn took vitals, ran the IgG, weighed and measured the leggy, big shouldered filly. I entertained TeeDee while the baby got some more time being imprinted by Lynn.

The foal was a shade over 9 hands and about 105 pounds. She is solid brown with no white on her, an exact duplicate of her momma. Flagmount’s grey may well be hidden under the brown coat although I don’t see the tell-tale grey around her eyes. She was quite the little charmer, yawning, smiling and primping for the camera. She has an interesting swirl on her forehead that one of my friends described as looking like a Cinnabon. I remember reading about one Grand Prix rider that only buys horses for the Grand Prix that have at least two swirls on their forehead. This little should be super jumper with her giant swirl.

12472342_1002979633112196_1378624460102593177_n

Look at that swirl and those shoulders!

12920378_1002979619778864_541198398156656381_n

I swear she was smiling at us!

My Easter day was untraditional as I played with the baby and did chores at home. I ran over to Ally’s long enough to drop off some Easter baskets and pick up a “to-go” Easter dinner.

Tuesday was get the new dog from the airport day. I headed to Bush Intercontinental Airport to pick up a dog from Kentucky. Lady, a seven year old, AKC Grand Champion was coming to live out her years with my family. It is unclear at this point if she will stay with Lauren and I or head to Denver to be with Amber’s family. Amber had taken a quiz to find the best dog for her and the answer was…an American Foxhound. Sort of a giant Beagle with a calmer approach to life.

Out of the crate at the airport, Lady’s nose worked overtime to categorize all the new smells.

Although it took two hours to get home in rush hour traffic, Lady just curled up and slept. She must have smelled funny, though, as all my dogs were growling at the newcomer including my Kona. But quickly, everyone settled into the pack like no change had been made. Lady has never been around kids, per se, so part of this time in Texas is to see if she is sweet and kind.

ken and

Lady and Kendyll made quick friends and happily enjoyed their first day

I have had some apprehension with Lady, like would she see a squirrel and take off to never come back, but she has come when called, respected the fenceline well. I don’t know if this will be a Colorado or Texas dog, but she is a really special “Lady” and I am glad my friends from Kentucky trusted us with their girl.

Capture

Bigger than I anticipated, Lady is taller than the poodles or the Doberman.

walk

Clearly settling in well, she and her Doberman sister are happy campers!

Happy spring and thanks for riding along!

Flag and Fargo make a baby (we hope)

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Exechorseluver

Lauren with Flagmount’s Freedom, at over 17 hands he makes wonderful, kind, jumpers.

Caution-this post involves details of horse breeding/insemination. Parental Guidance suggested.

Last week started our push to get our German mare, Blonder Reflection (aka Fargo, aka Grandma) pregnant with Feather’s sire, Flagmount’s Freedom. Flag is an Irish Sport Horse stallion standing in Bryan, Texas. I have other articles about him in my blog if you want to ‘search’ his name for more information. This mating would produce a cousin to our yearling Betty Sue and a half-sibling to Feather. Some crazy times at our farm, for sure! Still those a pretty special relatives.

Even though I have seen others go through this ritual, I was not quite prepared for the science of getting a mare pregnant now. I hate to say it but back in my day, we turned them out in the pasture and got what we got next spring. Now, the equine reproductive process rivals that of any major human Fertility Clinic in the US.

Once I made the commitment to move ahead with this breeding of Flag and Fargo, and she had received a clean bill of reproductive health, we had several steps to go through. First, we had to get the mare to go into cycle-which involved an injection. Then we started tracking her follicles. To me they looked a lot like odd shaped balls but what do I know?

Several at the barn got embroiled in the Fargo follicle process and asked each day what size Fargo’s follicles were. Identifying the follicle size involves a sonogram (ultra-sound) of the horse’s reproductive parts.

Isabel and Lauren awaiting the daily follicle size check with Dr. Criner. Oh, life on the farm!

By Thursday we were getting close but didn’t know if Fargo would be ready for baby-making on Friday or on the weekend. We asked Dr. Marden with Flag for a late Friday afternoon collection. I have to admit I did enjoy posting on FaceBook that my daughter and her friend were en route to College Station to get some sperm. I found that pretty funny until I got some blowback from the father of Lauren’s under-18 friend. But I am guessing he is telling the story at work so he can’t be too upset.

It was Lauren’s first time to see Feather’s dad in person. She also got to meet Feather’s full sister and brother. They are built a great deal like Feather but one is a bay and one a chestnut. Lauren retrieved the vials of precious cargo and headed back to the farm.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lynn Criner was checking Feather to see if we were ready to breed, but she was not. I was worried Friday as we stored the vials in the refrigerator until we could do another check on Saturday. I hoped this mare that I knew so little about did not out wait the semen. The semen in the best of worlds was good until maybe Sunday (or so I had been assured). I was terrified the mare would take her time and have the perfect follicle on Monday.

Saturday, the rains blew through hard, causing some downed limbs and another three inches of accumulation. All the horses stayed in their stalls. Lynn showed up mid-afternoon to check on Fargo.

I have worked for OB-GYNs off and on for many years. I know my way around the female anatomy and sonogram images. Not so much when I was reviewing the images on Lynn’s machine. But by this point in the process, I could id the follicles but not a lot else.

As an aside, one of the ladies at the barn needed a pelvic ultra-sound for her own reproductive issues and I volunteered Lynn and her machine. She choose to keep her appointment with the radiology team at the hospital. We would have cleaned the probe first. I promise.

Anyway, Saturday afternoon, the rains had stopped (for a while) the skies had cleared but no one but the two of us (the doc and myself) were at the barn. We got Fargo to assume the position for seemingly the umpteenth time. I said silent prayers for follicle readiness. And yes, glory be, we had lift off!! It was time to inseminate the mare!

The semen (I have typed this word more in the last two weeks than I ever have in my life) had been ‘cooled’ and it was time to warm it up prior to insemination. I was told to put the syringes filled with Flag’s magic power next to my skin. I asked, “Like in my pockets?” No, I was told, next to your skin.

If you are told to put semen in your pants, you better just do it!

Then it was soon time for Fargo to take the magic vials from their warming position and have them injected into her. This process required a lot of cleaning of mare parts and sterile procedures.

With the tail tied out-of-the-way (not an issue we encountered in human reproduction) Dr. Criner is sending Flag’s swimmers to make a super foal.

I swear Fargo brightened up remarkably as the syringe was emptied. When the tube was removed, Fargo gave a huge sigh of satisfaction. I wanted to ask her if she would like a cigarette or something.

Here’s to hoping we are on our way to lovely, kind, athletic, jumping-fool of a foal. We should know more in the next couple weeks. Keep your fingers crossed. Say a prayer. For those of you wondering, horses carry approximately 342 days. And you thought you had it bad.

Many thanks for riding along this journey with us!

Another Saturday-a Bruno Story

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Exechorseluver

Last Saturday, we spent the whole day waiting, working, trying and praying to find some new way to get Bruno moving soundly. We x- rayed, created impressions of his footfall, crafted casts and forged a new shoe.

It has been raining off and on since then. Maybe God’s little way of making Bruno have to stay in close quarters and let his hoof adjust to all the work we did on it. It was frustrating, but perhaps just what he needed.

Yesterday, we took off early to head to Houston to the dog show. My little VW was packed with two car seats with Kendyll and Jordyn, and Kona sitting (or standing) in the middle. We always enjoy going to the show,seeing all the dogs and I was excited this year to bring Kona to try out some basic agility they had set up. I got to visit with a lot of dog lovers and the girls had a good time.

We dropped Kendyll and Jo at their other grandparents. It was mid-afternoon by the time we were back.

We decided to let Kid and Bruno out in the nearly dry front pasture. Normally, they do not go out here as the fence isn’t as good, it has weeds, and some rocks, but Bruno needed to get out. We followed Dr. Criner’s advice and gave Bruno a shot of Ace. The idea was to slow him down a bit so he would not pound so hard on his hoof. We gave the shot and waited for it to take effect. It was also a humid, 95 degrees with full afternoon sun. I thought that might take a toll on him as well.

But, no! Bruno came blazing out of the gate like the elite thoroughbred he is. Showing astounding ability to turn, cut and slide to a stop (all of which we could have done without) it brought huge smiles to our faces to see him be able to move so well. I know there are many days ahead, and lots of ups and downs but today was a good day. And I will joyfully remember where we are today versus a week ago. Sounds like it is another big thank you to Dr. Criner and Roland for work well done.

Even months of stall rest, cannot keep this boy from having natural muscles in his butt.

Now, forgive me for my weedy pasture, the rain has kept us from mowing, but watch my boy trot and gallop. It is not perfect, but we are making strides toward getting better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljq2CWNUs6g

Remind me of this day, when we take two steps back again as I know we will, but maybe, one day, Lauren will harness this horse’s natural athletic ability into something in the show ring. I can’t wait!

Also, I have gone back and re-categorized all the Bruno Stories-under the clever name, A Bruno Story, so if you ever want to go visit his history in order you can click on the front page of the blog and read his stories in order. What a time we have had!!

As always, thank you for riding along! I love hearing from you all with your support, great suggestions, and just to know you care!

What now?-A Bruno Story

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Exechorseluver

I wrote Monday about Bruno’s lameness. Today is Saturday, here is a short update of what happened this week:
* we started Bruno on bute (an anti-inflammatory drug)
* Tuesday, he was walking better but was still lame
* Wednesday Bruno was lying down, unable or unwilling to get up, so lame he could barely walk
* We started treating Bruno for a hoof abscess, soaking his bad hoof in Epsom salts to try to draw out the infection.

Bruno, no doubt a veteran of the hoof soak process, stood quietly.

* Thursday our local vet team got here to gently coax Bruno’s shoe off the infected foot. They did not want to damage any of the newly grown hoof. Bruno got a big injection of more anti-inflammatories.
* Friday after much discussion with both our vet Dr. Criner and our farrier, Roland, we determined we would shoot x-rays this morning.

Today started with radiographs of Bruno’s front hooves. He behaved well for the front feet but was not interested in having his back feet photographed. We will do that another day.

Setting up for the x-rays.

Later this afternoon, both the doctor and farrier returned. After reviewing the images, the doc wanted to see how Bruno was moving and how it affected his hoof. Dr. Criner needed him to move on the flat, unforgiving surface of concrete. She suggested using the highway (eh, no way!) and then the neighbor’s driveway. I got permission and the test was on. Dr. Criner ( because she is tougher than any of us) placed a chain in the ex-racehorse’s mouth, covered his hoof in duct tape and headed down the drive. The duct tape clearly showed that Bruno was striding in such a way that most of the impact was hitting on the damaged coffin bone, and the weak, outside of the hoof.

The next task was to find a way to support this hoof as time allowed it to get better. All of this was new to me. Based upon the x-rays, the hoof was trimmed. A new heart bar shoe was custom designed by Roland (Lauren thought we were cooking hot dogs, but we were making shoes). Then, casting material was used around the hoof to support the fragile hoof wall and allow the nails to have a place to rest other than the hoof.

Roland sculpting the cast material.

Next, was a custom fit pad to absorb the shock of the hoof as Bruno bounded down the arena walls. Finally, after re-shaping and molding, Bruno’s custom shoe was done.

The new heart bar shoe, with pad and cast.

The casted, padded new shoe-ready to go.

And finally, the jog for soundness. Off Lauren went, dwarfed by Bruno, moving beautifully, with just a hint of his old injury.

We still have several months of re-hab left. But the vet that diagnosed Bruno’s injury right in the first place, got him on the road to recovery with TAMU vets, appears to have made some good decisions for our giant OTTB Bruno. I am grateful for our new path forward, and grateful to Lynn and Roland for giving up their Saturday to get this horse pain free again.

One Hundred Days-a Bruno Story

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Exechorseluver

105 days ago!

One hundred days have now gone by.

One hundred days since Bruno walked into the Texas A&M surgery suite and limped out.

One hundred days of being imprisoned in a 12 by 14 cell.

One hundred days of pain, of blood, of boredom and of faith.

One hundred days of trust, that his owners were doing the best thing for him.

One hundred days-of smells of great rains and smells of new spring grass.

One hundred days that have felt like a million and yet flown right by.

One hundred days of bandage changes and new shoes.

One hundred days of fresh shavings, constant food and water from his favorite girl, Lauren.

One hundred days of ups and downs.

One hundred days without a change watching the world from his window.

One hundred days of healing, of rest, of ease. No race track bustle here.

One hundred days of growing stronger, growing brighter, growing hoof.

One hundred days broken up by a few trailer trips to A&M and an emergency trip to the local vet.

One hundred days of sameness but one night lost forever to a bad drug reaction.

One hundred days that nearly didn’t come.

One hundred days of jolly balls, salt licks and a true best friend in Mr. Kid.

One hundred days of photos with friends and family. Of becoming an icon.

One hundred days later, the new hoof re-grown, almost competely.

One hundred days later, being one X-Ray away from being ridden again.

One hundred days later the dream still alive that this big OTTB will once again storm across the pasture.

One hundred days later still convinced that he will soar over the jumps and win some blue.

One hundred days later, we are weary but encouraged.

One hundred days from now where will we be?

One hundred days further-travel along with me.

Come back, big guy, come back!

Exechorseluver

The life and times of modern day horse woman

Tag Archives: dr lynn criner